Best books for a 1 year old

 

For the past month or so, my daughter's interest in reading has sky rocketed. She will constantly bring you a book ("bup") and sit in your lap and she definetly has her favorites. Here is a list of the ones she (and my son!) have demanded we read to them over and over again. These are perfect to tuck into a gift for a 1st birthday party or baby shower.

Let's Go Outside by Katja Spitzer. This one is Ivy's favorite, hands down. I got this as a gift and before I even gave it to her, I fell in love with it! The colors, the whimsical and cheeky illustrations and the size of the book are just perfect. As it turned out, she became obsessed, so now it's hers. I might need to get my own copy. She especially loves the pages with the squirrel and I love hearing her try to say "Squirrel". 

Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton. You probably have seen Sandra Boynton books before but this is the best one for the younger set (10 months+). The pages are simple and it's a fun, quick read with lots of interaction. When my 4 year old happens to walk by if I'm reading this to my daughter, he will still come and sit for the duration of the book! I have this memorized, and if you get it, you will too! This book is the reason my daughter calls dogs "ruff ruffs" and I'm not mad about it. :)

Peekaboo Sophie! This book gets so much play at my house that I have to hide it because I need breaks from reading it! The peekaboo flaps in this book are large and thick and easy for small hands to grab, which is half of the draw. The other half is Ivy hears me say "peekaboo!" after she opens a flap, which never gets old in her eyes. Also, did you know that Sophie's friends are sophisticated animals named Lazare, Gabin and Margot? Must be a French thing. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle. Ok, I know what you are thinking, this is a no brainer. If you have kids, you know about this, but if you don't, now you know! We got our copy when my son was a baby and now, 4 years later it is literally falling apart. The kids love that purple cat and black sheep, what can I say. We constantly rotate books at my house to keep things feeling fresh but this book has a permanent spot and the kids never tire of it. A great book to turn into a sing song-y chant with clapping or just to flip the pages and name the animals. 

Ok, now it's your turn, what book is your child's favorite?

13 Months

 

Ham.

Ok, this is my favorite age. It's a good thing I didn't know when he was a newborn that they get super fun once they are 1. That would have seemed like forever away. But of course it went so fast, and I'm enjoying Jonas so much these days! And the explosion of development between 12-14 months is bananas. (Jonas turns 14 months on Wednesday) I like to keep a little running list of new things he is doing, eating, etc so whenever I get little pockets of time to work on his baby book I can just consult my notes. It would actually be impossibly to do otherwise. And the list I had made for 13 months was the longest yet!

At our family photo shoot earlier this month.

Speech. He says so much! Early on he said dada, mama and cat but now the list is 30 words deep. Of course these are in his own little language, usually just the first syllable. But last night he started saying the "th" sound in "bath", coming out as "ss"..."ba-ss". I died, it was really cute. Most are identifying people, animals and objects but some are directions and food so that really helps with communicating. He never picked up on sign language. He signed "more" but now he just says "mo", although I wish sign language worked for us. Oh! He has also started copying words that he hears Jon and I saying...uh oh.

Facing off with a turkey.

Demeanor. Jonas is such a goof. Loves to laugh and rough house with Jon. He has been dancing up a storm lately, which consists of bending his knees over and over. ;) And clicking his tongue, that is constant these days. He is always making us laugh.

 

Mini lumberjack

Eating. We are down to nursing just once a day. We were at 4 times a day and I weaned him down, thinking we were going to completely wean but I stopped at the morning nurse just because I couldn't bear to stop. I think Jonas would go either way at this point. He doesn't ask for it in the mornings but he also gets excited when he sees we are about to nurse. With that said, I do think the end is near. I'm proud of myself for making it 14 months. And as far as solid food goes, a somewhat picky eater has emerged! He used to eat anything and everything and now suddenly he is Mr. Opinionated.